Balancing-machine.



J. WLKlNsoN. BALANCING MACHINE. A PPIIUATION FILED FEB. 14, 1906.

Patented Dec. 23, 1913.

2 SHEETS-FSHEBT 1.4

31 manto/z.

James/www0 J. WILKINSON;

BALANGING MACHINE.v

APPLIUATION FILED P1313j 14. 190e.

Patented Deo. 23, 1913. l

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. 4

- JAMES WILKINSON,

' rate balancing necessary UNITED STATES PATENT onirica.

01 VPROYIlIIEllNl'CE, BHODEISLAND, ASSIGNOB, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, T0 QE-NEBAL ELECT-RIC COMPANY, CQLYORATION OI' NEVI YORK.

Bankname-immun.

Specication oi.' Letters'l'atent. Application .Med February 1l, 1906. forillll'o. 501,989.

Patentes Demers; 1913.

22ml! whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that'I, JAMES WinmNsoN. la

citizen of the United States, residing at- Providonce, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented newand useful Improvements in Balancing- Ma-` chines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relatesito' abalancing machine for wheels, disks and similar devices, its object being to provide amechanism which will enable an approximate balancing of the Wheel to be quickly eiected afterl which a more sensitive part of th'e mechanism is brought into tplay an'd facilitatesthework of accurate or n'er balancing.'

My invention is particularly adapted 'for balancing bucket wheels for elastic fluid tur-*- bines and in its preferred -form comprises.

antifriction wheels upon which the wheel hub is supported for the purposelof eiecting an apprximatebalancing thereon and for the purpose ofleasily'shifting the whe'el to di'erentpositions for finer balancing. rIfhe friction of the antifriction roller bearing however, is too great to permit of. the accuforhgh velocity wheels, for whichl reason it is desirable to complete the balancing by providinga beara minimum amount 'of 'friction against mo ernents of the' wheel to indicate 'its' unbalanced condition. To

ing for the wheel hav' this end I provide 'a pivotal knife edge bear- V ing adapted to support the wheel preferably by moving said Vbearing into engagement therewith and -then lifting the wheel clear of the roller bearing. 'I provide thislniife edge bearing with an indicating mechanism A which preferably ointerarm, adapted to more 'than countercomprises an 'elongated alancethe knife edge bearing blockl and to move in response to the slightest unbalanced condition of the :wheel when supported on the knife'edge bearing, which unbalanced condition acts to rock block and wheel on the knife edge pivot 'accordingly to move the indicator.

'.i 1Il'1';"operation, the wheel hub isgrst sup ported on; the roller bearings and the wheelgr'o'und or drilled for the purpose pf obtainroxiinate balancing, after which it supported on the knife edge beari'n in positions 90 and IBQdegfie'eSfapart and t e 'accurate bllm-thereof comnig an ap .plet'ed by tothe indicating mechanism. The shifting of the wheel during the lmife edge'balancing is facilitated by lowerling it .on to the roller bearing, it being impractical to shift the. wheel when. rest-ing onthe knife edges.

The preferred embodiment of my inven-I tionV is disclosed in the'accompanying drawing?, iii which:'

igiire- 1 represents an end view of the balancing machine with the wheel supported on the pivotal knife edge bearing. Fig. 2 is aside view'. showingthe position of the indicating mechanism lwhen the wheel is practically'balanced and supported on the bear- -ng. Fig. 3 'is ari-enlarged detail view 4of the supporting means for one of the roller bearings.A Fig. 4- is an enlarged side view of the several parts constituting the balancing mechanism proper. 'Fig 5 is a 'vertical section along the line :v Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a yiewy taken along the line yf-y, Fig. 5, showing the 'wheel supported by the roller bearings. Figs..7 and 8 are-top and endviews of the adjustableslides which support the .knifeedge 4bearing blocks. I Bigs.4 9 and 10 aretop and end views of the hardened bearwhich the wheel' is supported;l 1

The-balancing machine as illustrated in the draw-ings comprises'tivo vertical frames 1 having heavy bases 2-provided with bolt 4ingl blocks forthe knife edge bearing o n openings. These frames are. triangular inside elevation and provided at their tops with singularly disposed slots 3, there being twoslots in each frame'. A screw bolt 4, having av cylindrical portion 5 next to its head. anda reduced threaded end, passes through 'each ofthese slots, wnshers and '1 being disposed on each side of the frame between the portion 5 andthe-mit 8, which lat-ter. engages andholds the bolt at any de-- sired adjustment in the slot to suit diierent sized hubs. Y A angcd wheel 9 isjournaled.

on eachof the bolts4, bei-ng mounted on anti- A n the surfrict;ion roliers 10 which rest upa V:fami-fi. Thiefwheels 9 areheld between the heads of the bolts thewashers 6, their flanged-portions being' 'adj acent 'to their respedive supporting frames. 'four wheelsfwhen' adjusted; form an antifriction r lbeufns port the hub of a v'tlieel, disk orsimilar d 'e-A Yoe, whichiso'be balanced. 'In the I have illustrated a tur;

.wheel 411 provided with n 1mb' ico -ior

adapted .to receive 'and sup- 'i Y 12, finished 'true ginthe outside, so' that when the wheel vi's dis osed between' the frames and its lubseate on the wheels 9, it may be easily turned on its 'axis t9 different positions and brought to...an approximate bala'nce, its heavy side in each position, bein'g drilled, 'cut, 'or round. for this purpose. The.. friction of .t e-roller bearing will not permit of the wheel bein so delicately balanced lthat very small di erences in the disv tribution of the mass of a large wheel can vbe detected. When it -is desired to secure an 'accurate balancing of a wheel, such as is required in turbine practice, it is necessary to support the'wheel during the nerbalancingoperation in different positions'upon a bearing which shall have a minimum amount' of friction. This result is obtained by pro- .viding a pivotal bearing supported on knife edges. At the'- upper ends of the frames l,

vare vertical slots open at the top and adapted to receive' two vertically adjustable slide' blocks4 13 provided with side flangesl at each-end which engage the 'sides of the slot-s and hold. the slides against longitudinal movement therein. These slides rest upon a cam shaft 15 which'bears onthe bottom of the slots, said shaft being {iat-tened o'n ,opposite- 'sides and provided with a headl at one end. While .the hub is resting on the roller bearings, 'this 'cam ishaft 15 is inserted through the bore of said hub. and the @ppcsitely disposed vertical slots in the frames, its head 16 engaging one frame vand a crank block 17'being slipped on the other end of the cam shaft and securedthereto by a set screw 18 at a poiutbeyond the opposite frame. The cam shaft, which is thus free from displacement, serves to connect the frames together at their upper ends and, when turned-by means of a crank or-lever 19, to

i l raise `or lower the slides 13 simultaneously.

I provide a socket 2O in the longitudinally grooved upp'er face of each slide and mount vtherein a hardened steel bearing block 21 in the form of a hemisphere and provided across its fiat 'face with a transverse V- ed to rest'.z in thechannels 22 of the steel blocks 21. The knife edge block 23 or. the slides 13 should be of such size, with relation to theshaft opening inthe wheel, that when the cam shaft 15 is rockedto lift the slides 13` the upper side 'of said block will be brought into engagement with the bore'of the wheel to lift the hub clear of the roller .bearing land supportit with'its center of gravity a' nale beiowythe-lmi'fe edge bearing. When' thisccurs it will' be seen that the wheel is'pvotally. 'supported` onthe knife edge. bearing'which has hardly an friction. To` indicate the 'unbalanced condition .of the wheel by the position of its supporting block, I provide an' indicating mechanism.

comprising a needle or pointer'25'detachably fconnectedto one end -of the block 23 and,

movable. over a scale 26 provided near the.

base of-one 'of the frames. The indicating y vneedle acts like a pendulum and shows om the scale in degrees the amount the wheelisbalance for the-block 23, being heavy enough to brin the center ofl gravity 'below the knife e ge 24. In practice, the knife edgeis usually in alinementwith the wheel oen-'- ter or. axis when the wheel is supported by the block 23, so that the center of gravity -of the combined 'wheel and block is' slightly below the center of gravity of the Wheel which is therefore not in absolute equilibrium'. -Wheu the cam shaft is movedto lower the block 23, the latter moves out of engagement with' the wheel hub and enables the wheel to be turned freely on the roller bearings. y,

In operation, after the wheel hasbeen'" approximately balanced on the' roller bearing, it is balancedin one position onfthe knife edge after which the cam shaft vis .moved to lowerv the block 22B- and transfer the 'wheel vto the roller bearing on which it maybe' turned to a new position or 180 degrees,

'out of'balance. It also acts as a 4counter-'A' distant from that in which it was last balanced, when the cam shaft may beagain' moved to, bring the block 23V into engageof the wheel, swings a certain number of degrees in one direction, .then .by lowering the wheel, turning it a halfrevolutionand then supporting it on the knife edge again, the needle should swing an equal number of degrees to the other side of the cent-er of gravity. The range of the, needle is thus .doubled and one reading checks the .ot-her. This process may be kept up during correction in 'various positions until the wheel `is in satisfactory balance, when the block '23 and cam shaft may be removed and the wheel lifted l off the roller bearing and out ofthe balancf ing machine. y

The wheels 9 may be adjusted so that the center of the wheel or-device to be balanced;-

whemqresting on them, will be slightly above be adjusted any desired distance a art, it beingfonly necessary to provide a b ook 23 and a cam shaft of sufficient length to bridge them to enable the machine-to balance vices of considerable width, suchas large' pulley wheels, drums, etc.-

Y W'ithout limitation to the: details of construction lor the arrangement of 'parts which represent one embodiment onl' of my invention, what I claim as new and' esire to secure by Letters' Patent, is

1. A balancin machine comprising aV frame by which t e device to be balanced supported, wheels journaled tosaid frame., a pivotal j bearing member supported by said frame, and means coperatlng with said member to transfer said device, while supported by said frame, fromsaid wheels to said-pivotal bearing member and vice versa.

2. A balancing machine comprisinv a stationary frame, two bearings mountedon' the frame and adapted alternatively to support a wheel or similar device, the distribution ofv whose mass is to be determined and bal-l anced, said wheel or similar device being disposed substantially in a plane transverse to the axes of the bearings and one bearing being of'lower frictional resistance than the' other, and means coperating with one of the bearings to transpose the device from said bearing to the other bearing and-'viceversa.

3. In a balancing machine, frame, a roller .bearing and a knlfe edge bearing carried by said frame, and means to bring one or the other of said bearings-into un independent supporting engagement with a device for the purpose of balancing it on on'eor the other of said bearings.-v

4. A balancing machine comprising -a support-ing frame for a device to be balanced, roller bearings on said frame adapted vto receive and'support said device during 'one part of the balancing-operation, pivotalbearings-adapted to receive and support said a device during the other part of the 'balancing operation, and means toA adjust said bearings relatively-for the purpose of transferring said device from one 'to the other, substantially as described.

5. A balancing machine for turbine wheels having cylindrical concentric portions, comprising two standards between which the. wheel is adapted to 'esupported in a vertical position, wheels-journaled to the frame arid adapted to receive saidA cylindrical portions of the wheel a detachable pivotal bearin block adapted to be passed through the w eel and rest on said frame, and means to adjust said block so 'as to support said wheel therefrom free of said. wheels.

frame comprising relatively adjus standards, bearing wheels on said standards, bearing blocks disposed above said wheels,

a. supporting 4 6. In a balancing machine, anfertiel` tab .and 'a .detachable knife edge bea-rin block adapted lto rest Aon said bearing bloc s and support a device'to be balanced4 between said standards and free of said wheels.

7. In a balancing machine -for determining and adjusting Vthe distribution of the mass of a wheel or similar device, the com bination of a frame having vertical members .with a space between them .to receive 'the wheel or device, bearing blocks slidably mounted on said members, means carried by the Aframe for raising and lowering the blocks, and a pivotal bearing block that rests on each -of said blocks and is adapted to be moved therewith to' engage and support. said wheel or device;

8. A balancing machine4 for turbine bucket 'wheels comprisin a frame between parts of which the wheel 1s adapted to be supported in a vertical position, a wheel support having a knife edge and adapted to'be passed through a central opening in the wheel and engage said frame so. as to support said wheeltherefrom on said knife edge, and a pointer connected to said knife edge support to indicate angular deflection thereof.

9.111 a 'balancing machine, a vertical frame, bearing blocks provided with alining channels, adjustable slidesjcarried by the frame which. support said blocks, and a knife edge'bearing block adapted to rest in said channels. Y l

l0.` A balancing machine comprising a pair of relatively adjustable standards= a pair; of wheels rotatably mounted on each standard and relatively adjustable thereon -in inclined'planes to and from each other,

said wheels forming a roller bearing for 'a device to be balanced, a central support-for said device adapted toyrest on saidrollers.

and a knife edge bearing means supported by'said standards, said' wheels and bearing means being relatively adjustable, substantially as and for the purposes described.

'11. In a balancin machine, a frame, knife edge bearing t ereon comprising bearing blocks and a. pivotal inverted wedgedshaped bearing block resting on said blocks, means to ralse' and lower said bearing blocks and an indicatin needle connected at one` end to 'said pivota bearing block and which depends therefrom to substantially counter-bala-ncepsaid block and' bring its center of gravity below the knife edge bearing point 12. A balancing machinel for turbine" bucket wheels comprisin a frame, D blocks-vertically adjusta le in said frame, grooved bearings inserted in4 said blocks, a knife 'edgebalancing member adapted to be supported by said bearings .and which is de tachable, so that it may be passed through the centralv opening in the wheel, means to raise said blocks to bring said member vinto "pporting engagement with the wheel, and

13. In a balancing machine, the-combina- J tion of astationary frame', means-for sup- 'porting the bod;t to be balanced from said frame so .that '1t shall .be capable of tilting with reference thereto comprising a .bearing associated with said frame and a comachin bearing associated with the body to be. ba anced, a thirdbearing-associated with oneiof the bearings aforesaid als'o adapted to support the bod to be balanced so that it shall be capable o tilting with reference to 'correction in LettersPamm No. 1,082001.v

` bearing; and same page and line, for the werd ,bearingf read cqrying; and* that,

Vmy hand in presence of twol subscribing' witnesses.

' i :JAMESWHJKINSQN .Witnesses`: i 1

. H.- M.v UNRATH,' JAMES H. Nomix.

It is hereby-,certified that in Letters Patent N o. 1, O82,( )01, granted December 23,` v 19 13, upon the application of-Jamea Wi1kinson, c Providence, R hode Inland;l "for ah ilnprovenientin Balancing-Machines, errors appear in lthe printed specification requiring correction as follo'ws: Page 2, line 52,.for the-.Word carrying the gaid Letters Patent' 'should be read with these corrections therein that the same rnay conform tothe record of the lcase in the Patent Oce. i

Signed and sealed this 20thA day of January, I1914.

ActigUmmsie-fter of Patents.

13. In a balancing machine, the-combina- J tion of astationary frame', means-for sup- 'porting the bod;t to be balanced from said frame so .that '1t shall .be capable of tilting with reference thereto comprising a .bearing associated with said frame and a comachin bearing associated with the body to be. ba anced, a thirdbearing-associated with oneiof the bearings aforesaid als'o adapted to support the bod to be balanced so that it shall be capable o tilting with reference to 'correction in LettersPamm No. 1,082001.v

` bearing; and same page and line, for the werd ,bearingf read cqrying; and* that,

Vmy hand in presence of twol subscribing' witnesses.

' i :JAMESWHJKINSQN .Witnesses`: i 1

. H.- M.v UNRATH,' JAMES H. Nomix.

It is hereby-,certified that in Letters Patent N o. 1, O82,( )01, granted December 23,` v 19 13, upon the application of-Jamea Wi1kinson, c Providence, R hode Inland;l "for ah ilnprovenientin Balancing-Machines, errors appear in lthe printed specification requiring correction as follo'ws: Page 2, line 52,.for the-.Word carrying the gaid Letters Patent' 'should be read with these corrections therein that the same rnay conform tothe record of the lcase in the Patent Oce. i

Signed and sealed this 20thA day of January, I1914.

ActigUmmsie-fter of Patents. 

